Show Me Ice Cream
by Soladara
Summary: The 100th episode of TVD has hinted at a Klaroline moment, including a kiss-or is it? Here's my take on one way it could happen and lead to a crossover with TO. One shot.


Show Me Ice Cream

"Aww, what's the matter, everyone didn't bow down and worship you?"

Klaus's eyes darted away, and it was the tell that told Caroline she'd hit closer to home than she'd expected. Sure she'd wanted to scratch him, but she hadn't expected to punch him in the gut.

In true Klaus fashion, he recovered quickly, squaring his shoulders and throwing on a mask of cruelty. It was a look she hadn't expected him to use on her again, not after graduation, but maybe that had been naive of her. She always expected too much of people, thought they were better than they really were.

"And you? How was the reunion with dear, sweet Tyler? Did he prove to be the man of your dreams?"

Her turn. She couldn't help it, her teeth clenched, and she felt the tightening of her throat as all those ancient self doubts unfolded in her mind. Whatever sign she gave away, Klaus saw it, and his expression lost some of it's cruelty.

"Caroline-"

But she was more comfortable with hating him that giving a damn about it, and acted accordingly. "My relationship with Tyler," she stated with venom in her voice as she advanced on him, "Stopped being any of your business when you gave your sick and twisted permission for him to come back. Whatever we decided is between us, and has nothing to do with you."

Klaus stood his ground, but regained some of his waning anger, "Oh I don't know, Luv, the way I hear it, it had quite a bit to do with me."

With a scoff, she threw her arms out. "You are such an ego maniac!" It was bravado alone that allowed her to throw on her mean girl's mask and keep fighting when all she wanted to do was crawl into a hole and cry. His words were cutting her a lot worse than she'd cut him. "Did you come all the way back to Mystic Falls to rub it in my face that Tyler and I broke up?"

The silence lasted a split second too long as Klaus regrouped and adjusted his tactics, while Caroline replayed the heartbreak of losing the only guy she'd ever truly loved. But when he spoke, it wasn't with cruelty, instead his voice was soft, and a little hesitant. "I'll admit that I came back to see you, though it had nothing to do with hurting you."

But his vulnerability rankled her, and she lashed out, wanting him to hurt as much as she did for his part in all of her misery. "Well I don't want to see you! God! Why can't you just take a hint and leave already? Go find some tribe of aborigines to convince your a god, and leave me the hell alone!" She turned, missing his expression as she stalked off, back through the forest where she'd come to try to forget the sudden appearance of Tyler at the Boarding House.

He was in front of her instantly, and she could tell he wanted to scream at her but was fighting to control himself, to find another way to speak to her, to convince her. "I didn't mean to upset you, Caroline. Here," he said, reaching into his pocket, "I actually came to give you something. A present." Pulling out an envelope with a United Airline's logo on it, only caused Caroline's heart to jackhammer in her chest.

She took an involuntary step back, as if the envelope were poisonous. Hurt flashed across Klaus's face, and she saw it, but having chosen her course, pushed forward. "I don't want it! I don't want anything from you except for you to leave me alone!"

"It's just a air tick-"

"I don't want it!" She yelled, glaring at him, hoping he'd leave her alone so that her heart would stop twinging at the hurt expression that flashed so easily across his face before disappearing behind his mask.

Cruelty, his go to defense, emerged and he took a step towards her, "I can't help but wonder, Caroline, why you want me to leave you alone so badly? Is it that you hate me so much, or are you more afraid that you don't hate me as much as you wish you did?"

Silas.

Adrenaline flooded her blood, now racing through her body as her heart beat at twice the speed of a humans. Isn't that what Silas had asked her? Isn't that what she'd wondered herself all those nights after Tyler had chosen revenge over her, and she'd lain in her bed wondering what to do next? Hadn't she stressed over the horrifying idea that despite everything Klaus had done, she didn't hate him as much as the others, that she truly did think that if he tried hard enough, wanted it bad enough, had reason enough, he could change and be a decent person?

Her silence gave him all the leeway he needed, and in typical Klaus fashion, he became his own worst enemy. "Let's find out, shall we?" He lunged forward, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her against him. Terror filled her, as she realized what he was going to do, but he was faster, and as his eyes dilated, and the compulsion began, Caroline felt her will fall submissive to his own. "Show me, Caroline. Show me how much you hate me."

Releasing her, he took two steps back, giving her room.

Rage filled her, "You bastard!"

"Oh yes, sweetheart, I'm the evil hybrid bastard hell bent on destroying us both with your cruelty." Though he grinned at her with a smug expression, his words didn't match. But Caroline was too angry to care.

"You want me to show you how much I hate you! No problem! For your sake, I hope you're wearing a cup!"

Fists clenched, she took a step forward, bringing her arm back to punch him square in his smug little jaw and wipe that self satisfied smirk off his face-

Six inches from his body, she knew her life was going to change forever. Her raised right hook fell to her waist, as her momentum slowed and she felt her traitorous body-or maybe it was her mind that was the real traitor-stretch up onto her tip toes as she angled her lips to slant over his.

His breath mingled with her own as she breathed him in, felt his amazing strength before her, like some lost god in human form. Her mind went numb realizing what she was about to do, knowing that somehow, she'd been lying to herself all this time, and hadn't realized it.

Gentle hands gripped her arms and eased her back onto her heels. "No, Caroline," with his eyes closed, he shook his head, "not like this." Retreating a step, he held her at arms length as his eyes opened, revealing pain and horror. The look was so striking, she couldn't help but draw in a breath.

His arms released her, and he took another step away from her, retreated from what he'd almost forced her to do, though he couldn't escape the truth within his mind, and it haunted his expression as he absently shook his head.

Another step, and all Caroline could do was watch him run from her. "Never by force." He shook his head, but the memory remained, and unable to face her any longer, he turned away.

He drew a shaky breath, as she brought a hand to press lightly against her stomach as she tried to cope with what had almost happened; with his unexpected reaction. "My sincerest apologies, Caroline." He shook his head, the light from the drifting sun, filtering through the half formed curls to cast shadows on the forest floor. "I," he scoffed at himself in disgust, "I'm apparently more miserable that I thought." He shook his head, "Never in my life have I forced a woman's affections." He glanced over his shoulder, but couldn't bring himself to look at her face. "I," he paused again, searching for the right words to convey so much, "hope with time, you can find it in your heart to forgive me this day."

Before she could say a word, he was gone, leaving her with the stark reality he'd forced her to confront, and a building ache in her chest.

* * *

"Klaus!"

Caroline's voice echoed through the empty mansion as he stood staring into the roaring flames of the massive fireplace. He'd retreated to this room because it held the artwork he'd created over the years but had yet to bring to New Orleans. He had thought, that after what he had nearly forced Caroline to do, the colors and smell of oil covered canvas would comfort him. Instead it reminded him of the snowflake he'd painted as a metaphor of his heart; when he'd realized that yet again, she'd spoken to him only to distract him, while her friends plotted against him.

The sun had set hours ago, but all he'd been able to contemplate was the image of her rage, giving way to the compulsion he'd forced upon her, as her lips had moved towards his. It made him sick to think on it, but it was all he could think about, so instead he'd given himself over to the dancing flames, hoping to lose himself in the images of hell he envisioned for himself when his life eventually came to its end.

"God, could you look anymore emo?"

He turned away from his future, ready for her razor sharp tongue to shred him as only she could. This fiery temptress, so filled with light, that she'd shone it into his darkness and found something worthy of exploration. Yet he'd been cruel and callous and forced her to see what she hadn't, and he suspected she was here to make him pay for it.

"Catch!"

The pint sized carton was freezing cold as he caught it mid-air. The blond beauty, who'd captured his attentions like none other before her, smirked as she walked over in her skinny jeans and knee high boots, and threw off the dusk cover hiding the couch he'd surprised Rebekah with after catching her gazing at it fondly in a catalogue.

He looked at the object in his hand, Cherry and Chocolate ice cream, and glanced back up to see Caroline fall onto the far end of the couch, leaning against the arm. She lifted one boot covered foot and indicated the other end of the couch, "Well?"

"Caroline," he started, wincing internally as he said her name, not feeling worthy at the moment, "what is this?" He held out the ice cream container, but indicated with a sweeping motion, her half laying on the couch.

She pulled the top off her own ice cream container, shrugging one shoulder, "Comfort food." Shifting something from the pocket of her hoodie, she removed two pink plastic spoons, and then pointed at him before pointing at the far end of the couch. "Sit already, before melts. Unlike us, ice cream doesn't last forever, and it really isn't any good once it goes soupy."

Unsure what was happening, he decided to play along, if for no other reason than to end the torture of waiting and allow her to begin her rightful berratement of his behavior. Cautiously, he moved to the far end of the couch, mimicking Caroline's position so they were facing each other with less than a foot between them.

Stretching forward, she handed him the pink spoon, which he took. With no further tasks to complete, Caroline retrieved her own spoon, scooped off a mouthful of green ice cream, and slid the confection past her lips. With the spoon hanging out of her mouth like a plastic tongue, she looked at him pointedly until he followed suit and took a bite of the cherry treat.

Removing the spoon, she looked down at the container and went for another bite. "So talk."

With a sigh, he stabbed the spoon into the container, "There are no words to convey my," he paused, trying to find some words, knowing he owed them to her, "deepest regrets for my actions toda-"

Caroline took the spoon from her mouth and waved his words away. "Not that. New Orleans. You said you were miserable, so talk."

Shock settled onto him like something heavy as he blinked back his confusion, "After everything that happened today, you wish me to unburden myself to you over a container of Cherry and Chocolate ice cream?"

Caroline held up her container, "And Chocolate Mint, can't forget the old stand by."

He blinked, staring at her stupidly as she dug back into her treat, looking at him pointedly to begin. Then, as if all the tension of the last few months snapped within him, he sagged against the side of the couch in surrender.

Spending a few silent moments gathering his thoughts didn't give him enough time to formulate a way to tell Caroline tactfully about the worst of his predicament, but it did find him a starting point.

Lifting his eyes and his spoon from the ice cream container, he began, "I believe it may very well be possible, after all these centuries, and countless blows, that I may have finally found a way to make my sister truly revile me."

She listened. For hours he unburdened himself, sharing with her pieces of himself he had never shared with anyone else. He told her of Marcel, of Hayley and the child, of his fears of becoming like his own father. He spoke of how he'd tried to reclaim the city of his heart by playing with his brother's life, and dropped his eyes as he'd recounted Rebekah's betrayal, and Elijah's disgust. Through it all, Caroline remained an attentive and nearly silent listener, discarding her empty container on the floor, and eventually kicking off her boots and settling into the couch. Half way through the evening, her stocking covered toes found their way to his side of the couch, where they rested against his bent knee until dawn colored the parlor in pinks, oranges, and reds, and he grew silent, somehow exhausted by the experience but lighter for it.

Inhaling a breath, Caroline caught his eye, "Sounds like you've been busy."

Depreciation sounded in his bark of laughter, "I tell you, that after a thousand years, my life is the worst it has ever been, where I have no allies, no one I can even conceive of trusting, and that's all you can say?"

He was surprised when she pulled her feet away from his knee, feeling immediately the absence of the warmth. Without a word, she slid across the couch, until she was right next to him, and captured his soul with her eyes.

"If that's true, really true, then you have my permission to compel me to forget everything you just told me. You can take back the last few hours like they never happened, and all your secrets, all your doubts will be safe and sounds." With his heart now beating like a hummingbird's in his chest, she continued, "Or, you can stop whining about the messes you make for yourself, trust someone else for no other reason than because you hope they won't hurt you, and take a chance and see what happens?"

Then she smirked, "And, to sweeten the deal, if you take a chance and trust someone for a change, I'll even drive you to the airport."

* * *

Caroline pulled into a parking space at Whitmore. She was exhausted, and just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend she didn't have an evening class in six hours.

With a sigh, she climbed out of her car and pressed the keyfob to pop the trunk.

Reaching into the back for her overnight bag, she was startled to find a white United Airlines envelop with her name scrawled beautifully across it. Ignoring her bag, she flipped it over, and couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you for your forgiveness. -Klaus"

With a deep sigh, she grabbed her bag and closed the trunk before turning to head towards her room.

Klaus's compulsion had given her a lot to think about.

Opening the outer zipper on her bag, she stuffed the envelope inside and closed the zipper.

Later, she'd think about it later, after some sleep.

God, she was tried.


End file.
